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May 17, 2013

Top 10 Most Disliked U.S. Companies: 2013

AdvisorOne focuses on the bottom 10 in a Harris poll ranking consumers’ opinion of the reputation of America’s 60 most visible companies

This poll should make AIG's CEO Robert Benmosche want to hide behind that door. (Photo: AP)

Financial companies dominated the bottom of the reputation barrel in Harris Interactive’s annual reputation poll in 2012, and this year’s 14th annual poll is no different. The poll ranks consumers’ opinion of the reputation of the 60 most visible companies in the United States.

Financial companies’ reputation again contrasted sharply with that of technology companies, like Amazon and Apple, which were in the top of the poll’s rankings in 2012 and 2013. Some of those banks did show improvement, though, in overall reputation.

The Harris Poll Reputation Quotient (RQ) measures 20 attributes in six areas that make up reputation and affect consumer behavior: social responsibility, emotional appeal, financial performance, products and services, vision and leadership, and workplace environment.

An RQ score of 55–64 denotes a “poor” reputation; 50–54 “very poor”; and below 50 “critical.” Companies with scores below 50 “risk remaining viable,” according to Harris. Among previous sub-50 RQ performers were Enron, Adelphia and WorldCom, all now defunct.